New York: Masahiro Tanaka outdueled Chris Sale in a battle of aces, and the New York Yankees completed a two-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox with a 3-0 victory on Thursday night.
Tanaka (3-1) tossed a three-hitter to win a third consecutive start. It was the fifth complete game of his career and his first since 2015. He didn’t walk anyone, and he struck out three in becoming the first Yankee to throw a complete-game shutout against Boston since Mike Mussina in 2002.
Tanaka retired the last 14 batters, good for 15 outs, and needed 97 pitches to complete his second career shutout. New York, who started the season 1-4, are 12-3 since.
Washington erupted for 11 runs in the seventh inning and crushed Colorado 16-5 with another stunning offensive display.
While winning the final three contests of a four-game series, the Nationals outscored the Rockies 42-21. The Colorado bullpen, which allowed 20 runs in the first 19 games, was torched for 26 runs in the past three contests.
Adam Eaton, Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy homered for Washington, who had 19 hits Thursday and 47 in the past three games, including seven homers. Gio Gonzalez (3-0) gave up two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.
— Reuters